![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/06\/public-transit-returns-post-covid.png\"){kind=spacer}
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPublic transit filled a vital need as COVID-19 raged, delivering workers to essential jobs at hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, fire and police stations and utility companies, and transporting medical patients, medicines, meals and critical supplies. Crews stepped up efforts to clean, disinfect and ventilate vehicles and facilities. Some agencies adopted new technology to better monitor system use during the pandemic and be more responsive to changing needs afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More recently, an infusion of federal emergency assistance has helped stabilize transit organization finances. Proposed infrastructure legislation includes several measures to expand bus routes and rail lines and convert gas and diesel vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles. As of May, about 50% of transit riders nationwide had returned compared to pre-pandemic times, according to the American Public Transportation Assn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roads & Bridges<\/em>, a trade publication for the transportation construction and maintenance marketplace, notes that the pandemic \u201chas elevated public awareness and appreciation for the vital role transit plays in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n New challenges arise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But even as the pandemic wanes in some regions, new challenges arise for public transit, which less than 6% of Americans used to commute to work before the pandemic. Work-from-home arrangements appear to be a durable trend with little or no adverse impact on productivity. Some workers may relocate outside metro areas for lower costs of living or other reasons. Rideshare programs and other alternatives threaten to further erode transit ridership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Systems in Washington, New York, Houston, Chicago and elsewhere are weighing fare reductions, schedule adjustments, security enhancements and facility upgrades to lure riders back. Even more important, agencies are seeking to formulate a long-range vision for public transit\u2019s role in modern life. \u201cWe have a huge opportunity here to provide fast, safe, reliable, clean transportation in the country, and transit is part of the infrastructure,\u201d President Biden said in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Government Technology<\/em> adds, \u201cFor all the damage COVID did to city transportation systems, it also provided them an opportunity to learn more about how transit is used, reconsider the mission, and reallocate resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But recalibrating transit is \u201ca huge challenge,\u201d acknowledges Paul Skoutelas, president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Assn. \u201cTransit agencies will have to pivot to what this new future might be \u2026 we need to get the larger workforce back on public transit, not only for our own survival but also to revitalize cities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Snyder, Europe CEO and senior vice president of expansion at Via, an on-demand private mobility provider that partners with public transit systems in the U.S. and Europe, believes that rebuilding transit demand is \u201cgoing to take time, maybe years, which means we have an opportunity now to shape how we recover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nuanced thinking and flexibility needed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What will such a recovery look like? Most likely it will satisfy multiple community needs by combining public and private mobility providers into interactive, equitable, convenient, affordable and environmentally conscious systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe tend to say that as long as your ridership numbers are trending in the upward direction that your system is healthy,\u201d says Zabe Bent, director of design for the National Assn. of City Transportation Officials. \u201cWe need to be more nuanced than that. We need to look at travel times and how competitive they are to driving. We need to make sure that accessibility between modes is there. We need to make sure that on-time performance works\u2026 across the network, not just on the core system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will never have everyone going back to 9-to-5 commuting the way they did before,\u201d adds transit consultant Jarrett Walker, while Beth Osborne of advocacy group Transportation for America believes that transit agencies\u2019 \u201csingular focus\u201d in the post-COVID era should be on improving access for the trips people make aside from work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n